India and New Zealand are preparing for the second match of their five-game ODI series, scheduled to take place in Wellington on Saturday, November 7. The Men in Blue currently lead 1-0 after securing a convincing five-wicket victory in the rain-affected opening encounter. Ahead of the contest, New Zealand fast bowler Blair Tickner opened up about his experience of bowling to former India captain Virat Kohli and expressed his desire to dismiss the star batter in the upcoming match.

India carried their impressive T20I form into the ODI series, securing victories despite having a relatively inexperienced pace-bowling attack. Shubman Gill’s side will now look to maintain that momentum and strengthen their position in the series. The visitors are also aiming to win an ODI series in New Zealand for the first time since the 2018-19 season.

Speaking to the media before the second ODI, Tickner described playing against Kohli as a special experience. The New Zealand pacer acknowledged the pressure the former India captain created during the opening match but remained confident in his team’s ability to find a way to dismiss him.

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“Yeah, he’s obviously going all right. With a small total, he came out and put pressure on us. We looked to take wickets, but he did really well. We still back ourselves and our skills to obviously get him out. But yeah, it’s an awesome opportunity to play against him, and hopefully we can get one over him soon,” Blair Tickner said.

Kohli has been in outstanding touch in the 50-over format despite currently featuring only in ODIs for India. He has been among the team’s leading run-scorers this calendar year and continues to demonstrate remarkable consistency, energy and athleticism on the field. The former India captain turned 38 on November 5 and celebrated his birthday with another impressive performance against New Zealand. Kohli scored 74 runs off just 51 deliveries in the opening ODI, negotiating challenging conditions in which the ball offered considerable movement and bounce.

His aggressive approach put the New Zealand bowlers under pressure, and he looked capable of reaching another international century before rain interrupted proceedings and forced a revision of the target under the DLS method. Tickner also acknowledged New Zealand’s batting struggles in the opening encounter. The hosts were bowled out for 185 runs, with the fast bowler himself emerging as their highest scorer with 34 runs. He admitted that the team needed to post a bigger total to put India under greater pressure.

“Obviously, you’d have loved to score more runs and put a little bit more pressure on them… we know that we didn’t get enough runs and with the ball we can be even better,” he added.

The New Zealand pacer also discussed the absence of Devon Conway, who has been ruled out of the ODI series. He described Conway’s contribution as significant but backed replacement Nick Kelly to make the most of his opportunity.

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“Yeah, he’s been massive for us, obviously. Crazy event at training, but we’re bringing in Kelly, another great player. So it just gives opportunity to other players to stand up like we have throughout. He’s been a few injuries around the last couple of years, but seems every time we have another player come in, they do well. So great opportunity for Nick,” Blair Tickner concluded.

New Zealand will now look to address their batting shortcomings and level the series in Wellington.